The Town of Coaldale has released its 2023 Comparative Analysis. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Coaldale boasts low municipal government costs in new analysis

Dec 13, 2023 | 8:50 AM

COALDALE, AB – A new report by the Town of Coaldale claims its local government is one of the most cost-effective among comparable communities in Alberta.

The municipality has released its 2023 Comparative Analysis, which looks at the numbers for the Town of Coaldale, several similarly-sized communities in the province, and Coaldale’s closest neighbour Lethbridge.

The others include Blackfalds, Drumheller, Edson, Innisfail, Lethbridge County, Taber, and Ponoka.

They are all compared across seven benchmarks:

1. Total Revenues and Operating Expenditures
2. Taxation and Assessment
3. Assessment Growth
4. Population Growth
5. Executive Compensation
6. Salaries, Wages, and Benefits (new this year)
7. Crime Severity (new this year)

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Overall, Director of Growth & Investment for the Town of Coaldale Cameron Mills said they have stacked up favourably against many of the others.

“Once again, this report reveals Coaldale’s commitment not only to maintaining tight control over its operating costs – including over wages, salaries, and benefits – but also, to supporting the community through difficult times. In an economic climate where significant tax increases have become a norm for many municipalities, Coaldale has taken a different path,” said Mills.

He adds that, while other municipalities have seen tax hikes as high as 10 per cent, Coaldale has decreased its residential and non-residential mill rates.

Across the first two categories, Coaldale was among the bottom of the list.

While the town had the lowest expenditures per capita, it also had the second-lowest revenues.

Coaldale was also ranked second from the bottom in terms of expenditures on salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of tax revenues, as it spends just 66 percent ($668 per capita) of its revenues in those areas, while the average was 87 per cent ($1,017 per capita). Lethbridge spent the most at 118 per cent ($1,786 per capita).

In terms of compensation for mayor and council, Coaldale was the cheapest, spending $39,263 for Mayor Jack Van Rijn and a combined $26,252 for its councillors. The top-ranked Lethbridge County, on the other hand, paid its reeve $81,423 and $53,483 to its council members.

Coaldale was one of four municipalities that decreased its residential mill rates from 2020-23, alongside Lethbridge, Blackfalds, and Lethbridge County. When looking at non-residential rates, only Coaldale and Lethbridge County had taxpayers forking out less.

The assessment also found that Coaldale had the largest growth both in terms of residential and non-residential assessment values between 2018-2024.

The population of Coaldale grew by 5.8 per cent over the last five years, behind only Blackfalds and Lethbridge. The average for the communities being analyzed was a 4.3 per cent increase.

The last category that was looked at was the Crime Severity Index (CSI) score from 2018-2022. Measured by Statistics Canada, it looks at the number of crimes reported to police as well as the severity of those crimes. With a CSI score of 52.4, Coaldale was the lowest of the eight communities. The average score was 123.4 while Ponoka had the highest at 185.7.

The report concludes by saying that Coaldale has proven itself to be an affordable, accountable, and safe community.

The full Town of Coaldale 2023 Comparative Analysis can be read on the town’s website.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now

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